Prime Information
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu drew criticism in Israel on Monday after he reiterated his opposition to a everlasting cease-fire with Hamas, simply as hopes have been rising {that a} truce might be inside attain.
Critics mentioned his intervention narrowed the possibilities of a deal by which Hamas, which seeks a everlasting truce, would free a minimum of among the Israeli hostages nonetheless held in Gaza.
Negotiations over a deal continued on Monday in Cairo, the place Israeli officers gathered for talks mediated by the Egyptian authorities. After months of failed negotiations, hopes for a deal have been revived final week amid reviews that Hamas had develop into extra versatile on key areas, main Israeli officers to fly to Qatar, one other mediator between Hamas and Israel.
However Mr. Netanyahu’s assertion on Sunday night time dampened these expectations, because it appeared to minimize the possibilities of a compromise with Hamas over the size and permanence of the cease-fire.
“Any deal will permit Israel to renew preventing till the entire aims of the struggle have been achieved,” his assertion mentioned, reiterating his long-held place that the struggle should proceed till Israel has destroyed Hamas’s navy and governing skills.
To Mr. Netanyahu’s critics, his intervention — at such a delicate second within the negotiations — risked derailing the efforts to safe the discharge of roughly 120 hostages Israeli officers say are nonetheless held in Gaza, each lifeless and alive, after being captured by Hamas and its allies in the beginning of the struggle in October.
“We’re at a important second within the negotiations. The lives of the hostages depend upon them. Why subject such provocative statements?” Yair Lapid, the opposition chief, wrote on social media. “How does that contribute to the method?”
Analysts mentioned that Mr. Netanyahu’s intervention confirmed how he’s making an attempt to steadiness the hassle to free the hostages along with his need to carry collectively his coalition of ultranationalist and ultrareligious political events.
Mr. Netanyahu’s grip on energy depends on the assist of two far-right events against any settlement that would depart Hamas in energy in Gaza. Critics say this has made him cautious of committing to a hostage launch deal that would result in the collapse of his coalition and immediate early elections that polling suggests he would lose.
“The easy reality is as follows: Benjamin Netanyahu doesn’t need a hostage deal,” Ben Caspit, a biographer and distinguished critic of the prime minister, wrote on social media. “He is perhaps prepared to get the hostages again, however not on the expense of his coalition’s well-being. It’s that straightforward.”
Others extra sympathetic to Mr. Netanyahu say he could also be utilizing hardball negotiating ways with a view to power greater compromises from Hamas. With every passing day, Israel’s navy operation within the southern Gaza metropolis of Rafah additional weakens Hamas’s place there, mentioned Nadav Shtrauchler, a former strategist for the prime minister. “The efforts of the navy in Gaza might assist him get extra from Hamas,” Mr. Shtrauchler mentioned.
Moreover, Mr. Netanyahu could also be making an attempt to stave off the collapse of his coalition till the top of July, when Parliament goes on recess. With no sitting Parliament, lawmakers would discover it far more durable to convey down the federal government, giving Mr. Netanyahu extra room to strike a deal that his coalition companions may resist, Mr. Shtrauchler mentioned.
“He’s making an attempt to create room for maneuver — and for that, he wants time,” Mr. Shtrauchler mentioned.
Gabby Sobelman contributed reporting from Rehovot, Israel.
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